Friday, October 22, 2010

Media Diet

I feel like I've been on a diet. Food, sort of, but mostly a media diet. We have so many ways to 'connect' to people that we end feeling disconnected to the people who are physically with us. I found this to be quite true. If you've ever found yourself telling your child or your spouse, "Quiet, Honey, Mommy's on Facebook (or blogging, or reading emails, or web-surfing, etc.)", then maybe it's time for you to go on a media diet, too. We become 'fat' with all the 'stuff' that's out there and we begin to use that stuff as a 'way to escape' the demands of life.

When we become dependent on media to entertain us, we forget how to play, how to be creative, how to interact, how to converse. Our families suffer.

Do I want to continue to blog? Yes! And I will! Do I need to check my emails? Certainly. I need email to find out what's going on with my homeschool group, to communicate with my Girl Scout troop, to correspond with my design clients and to connect with out-of-town friends and relatives. Will I continue to Facebook? Yes. It's fun and I do see it's potential - after all, I've gotten most of my design clients simply through connecting with people on Facebook. Plus, I enjoy getting to feel a part of the lives of those I do not get to see very often. As great as those things are, not a single one of them is greater than the relationships that are a part of my daily life. There's something to be said for spending time with people face-to-face.

My diet has been good for me. I've lost a few 'pounds' of media dependence and have enjoyed more quality time with my kids without worrying about my emails all day or mentally composing my next blog or Facebook post. I'm ready to feed on media again, watching my portion sizes, of course. The key, as in most everything, is balance.

That being said, my kids are calling for me. I need to begin school lessons with my daughter and play with my son. But I'll be back :o)

About Me

Things That Make Me Go Hmm:

"You make the choice. It is really, really hard sometimes to choose cheerfulness, but it is your choice. Your children will pick up on your attitude immediately and will key off of you. What attitude would you like your children to have today? If we want cheerfulness, then we need to be examples of cheerfulness."- Joanne Calderwood (full article here)